Enrichment - YOU can help!

Spring is here (even though it may not feel like it), and the animals are looking for some fun. What better way for them to interact and stimulate all senses than by enrichment.

Here's a crash course on everything you need to know about enrichment, and how YOU CAN help.

What is animal enrichment
and why is it important?

Animal enrichments are
activities that help to enhance the care that keepers provide throughout the
year by creating a more stimulating environment for the animals and eliciting
some of their natural behaviors such as exploration, foraging, locomotion, social
interaction, manipulating objects or simply playing.

What does animal
enrichment look like?

Visitors will find
evidence of enrichment in exhibits all around the zoo, even though the animals
may or may not be actively involved at any given time. As a result, an
exhibit might look messy or contain things that are not “natural.” For
example, visitors might see paper bags, cardboard boxes or children’s toys in
an exhibit. Of course, these are not natural items that an animal would
come across in the wild. What is important is the activity elicited in
the animals.

When can visitors see
animal enrichment in action?

Zookeepers often give
the animals unscheduled enrichments, which may be seen throughout the zoo at
any time. Docents lead scheduled enrichments on a weekly basis and during
many special events,
barring last-minute changes due to inclement weather or the needs of the
animals or zoo staff.

How YOU CAN HELP!

If you would like
to help with enrichment, you can donate supplies noted below in our enrichment wish list:

Molasses

Honey

Baby Food (Fruit, veggie, or meat)

Cheerios

Rice Chex

Tubs of Oatmeal

Instant Oatmeal Flavored (NOT sugar-free)

Jello (NOT sugar-free)

Kool-Aid (NOT sugar-free)

Peppermints (starlight)

Nature
Valley granola bars (oat
& honey)

Mint Jelly

Grape jelly or other fruit flavors

Noodles (spaghetti or other shapes)

Applesauce

Rice

Clam juice

Anchovy paste

Canned tuna or salmon

Mustard

Ketchup

Oyster crackers

Brown lunch bags

Small paper cups

Dried Corn Husks

Yogurt (Not Light)

Plain popcorn

Dried Fruit (raisins, cherries, apricots, prunes)

Scents/Spices

Perfumes/Colognes

Banana

Mint

Strawberry

Orange

Vanilla

Garlic, Oregano, Rosemary, Cumin, Thyme, Lemon Pepper,
Nutmeg, Ginger

**Items can be dropped off at the front gate at the zoo

Photo courtesy: Carolyn Schulte

But
please remember that while enrichment has been approved as safe and put into
exhibits by zoo staff, our zoo visitors should NEVER put anything into animal
exhibits. Even harmless looking items (some sticks or leaves) can be dangerous
or toxic for some animals.